Violich Capital Management Inc. Has $5.87 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Violich Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,892 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $108.89 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $112.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.